In response to consumer interest, a number of comparatively inexpensive storage containers have been developed which are made of polymeric materials and which are suitable for a wide variety of storage uses. Such containers attempt to combine the advantages of both flexible storage bags and durable, reusable, stackable storage containers. While many of these containers utilize conventional interlocking mechanical beads and grooves to effect sealing of the lid/container interface, a few recently-developed storage containers utilize protected adhesive regions on mating surfaces of the lid and/or container to form an adhesive seal when desired. Representative storage containers of this variety are disclosed in commonly-assigned, co-pending U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 08/853,773 and 08/854,246, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
While storage containers of the latter variety provide a number of advantages versus containers employing conventional mechanical seals, the generally planar contact surfaces of the lid and container flange utilized for the adhesive seal are not necessarily self-aligning. When a consumer begins to activate the adhesive seal at one edge or corner of the container, unless proper alignment is achieved from the outset a misaligned edge may deviate from proper alignment by an amount exceeding the width of the sealing surfaces by the time a more distant edge or corner is reached during the sealing operation. This possibility is perhaps even more likely with a truly separate lid as opposed to a hingedly-attached lid which is generally properly aligned at at least one edge. Once such a misalignment exceeds the amount of overlap of the sealing surfaces, the consumer (if the condition is identified by the consumer) must unseal the lid and container and re-initiate the sealing process. Misalignment may also occur due to out-of-plane distortion of the flange and/or lid. If, however, such misalignment goes unnoticed by the consumer, perishable items within the container may unexpectedly degrade during storage.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a storage container having a improved sealability in use.